The Blessed Few
by cityskyliinee
Summary: (SECOND BOOK OF THE CURSED TRILOGY) It's been four moons since Duskpelt was banished and the lake cats have fallen into a shaky peace. Yet Stormpaw is still cautious of her father lurking the forest and the danger that still lies outside her clan. But she is about to learn that, sometimes, enemies are never who you expect them to be and not every cat is as blessed as you may think.
1. Chapter 1

**Allegiances:**

Lightningclan

 **Leader**

Brackenstar- Golden tabby tom with wise, amber eyes

 **Deputy**

Ivyheart- Black she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Medicine cat**

Fogfur- Dark grey tom with yellow eyes

 **Warriors**

Reddust- Large calico tom with grey eyes

Flamescar- Ginger tom littered with scars with blue eyes

Lionpelt- big, golden tom with green eyes

 _Apprentice, Stormpaw_

Greynose- Dark grey she-cat with amber eyes

 _Apprentice, Ace_

Featherpool- Pretty silver she-cat with blue eyes

Clawnose- Large tabby brown tom with a large scar on his face

Spottedclaw- Black and white tom

Gingerpool- Large ginger she-cat

 _Apprentice, Shadowpaw_

Stonepelt- Thick furred, grey tom

Burnpelt- Burnt red coloured she-cat with brilliant, blue eyes

Patchfur- White tom with grey patches and blue eyes

Breezecloud- Red and black tom with brown eyes

Flamefern- Dark grey she-cat with black ears

 **Apprentices**

Stormpaw- Silver grey she-cat with a darker stripe running along her spine and yellow eyes

Shadowpaw- Dark brown tom with several darker markings and magenta eyes

Ace- Nearly black tom with slightly lighter grey, tabby markings and odd, purple eyes

 **Queens**

Greylight- white and brown she-cat, mother of Brightkit, Sandkit and Brownkit

Blueheart- Grey she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Applekit and Birdkit

 **Kits**

Brightkit- Off-white she-kit with black markings

Brownkit- Dark brown, tabby tom

Sandkit- Cream coloured she-kit with blue eyes

Applekit- Dark grey tom with thick fur and blue eyes

Birdkit- Silver she-cat with darker grey markings and amber eyes

 **Elders**

Yellowfur- Dark grey she-cat

Hollowheart- Tabby brown tom

Pineclan

 **Leader**

Violetstar- Black and white she-cat with blue eyes

 **Deputy**

Scarletclaw- Dark russet furred she-cat with blue eyes

 **Medicine cat**

Marshyeyes- Murky brown tom

 **Warriors**

Iceheart- White tom with yellow eyes and a scarred muzzle

Owlheart: Light brown tom

Nightheart- Black tom with white paws

 _Apprentice, Starlingpaw_

Birdflight- Gray she cat

 _Apprentice, Hazelpaw_

Snakeclaw: Big tom with dark grey fur

Rainclaw- Brown tabby tom with grey patches that look like rain

 _Apprentice, Stingpaw_

Fireeyes- White and ginger she-cat with almost red eyes

Dustfur- Dusty coloured tom with green eyes

Hawkswoop- Dark brown tabby tom with ice blue eyes

Greytail- White top with a grey tail and blue eyes

 **Apprentices**

Stingpaw- Cream coloured tom with blue eyes

Hazelpaw- Chestnut brown she-cat with blue eyes

Starlingpaw- Black and ginger she-cat with amber, almost red, eyes

 **Queens**

Darkfeather- Black she-cat with white markings, mother of Flashkit and Snakekit

Brightwhisker- Light brown tabby she-cat, mother of Heatherkit, Snowkit and Frostkit

 **Kits**

Flashkit- Black tom with white streaks along his flank

Snakekit- Black she-cat with green eyes

Heatherkit- Pale brown she-cat with deep blue eyes

Snowkit- Pure white tom with icy, blue eyes

Frostkit- White tom with light grey markings and pale green eyes

Heatherclan

 **Leader**

Aspenstar- Brown and white tom with silver eyes

 **Deputy**

Lilyfeather- Mousy brown she-cat with large claws

 **Medicine cat**

Lightpool- Pale brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Rainclan

 **Leader**

Snowstar- White tom with blue eyes

 **Deputy**

Stonefoot- Big grey tom with blue eyes

 **Medicine cat**

Gooseflight- grey tom with blue eyes and black flecks

Cats Outside Clan

Amber- Grey she-cat with amber coloured eyes

Duskpelt- Brown tom with even darker brown markings and blue eyes (Previously of Pineclan)

Darkspots- Dark grey tom with lighter grey dots down his back (Previously of Pineclan)

Antclaw- Dark brown tom with yellow eyes (Previously of Pineclan)

Swiftswipe- Black and white tom with blue eyes (Previously of Pineclan)

Russetpelt- Dark ginger she-cat with white markings (Previously of Pineclan)

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 _Flashback: Around two moons before Duskpelt's Banishment_

On top of a cliff that overlooked the four territories surrounding the lake, sat a dark grey tom, silhouetted against the moon. He looked out over the water, his strangely coloured eyes narrowed in interest. His gaze then tracked upwards towards the sky which was littered with stars.

Behind him, approached a slightly lighter furred she-cat of similar height. Her eyes were a fiery amber that almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a sharp tone.

The tom didn't reply but did send a quick glare at the she-cat.

She sighed overdramatically and clawed the ground lightly, sitting down next to him.

"You need to get your head out the clouds," she warned.

The tom flicked an ear, "what do you mean?"

"I mean," she began, "you don't actually believe in those mouse-brained stories that mother told us when we were kits, do you?"

"They weren't stories," he hissed half heartedly.

"So you believe that all dead cats live in the stars and watch over us?" she snorted before letting out a long sigh and letting her shoulder sag a bit.

"Well where else would we go when we die?" The dark grey tom flattened his long ears, "it makes more sense than just vanishing."

"If cats could watch over us when we die then don't you think mother would've tried to stop us from doing what we did?"

The tom didn't reply.

"Look," she elongated an exhale, "you act like you regret what we did and then pray to your 'star cats' like you want forgiveness, if they didn't like what you were doing then why didn't they stop you?"

He didn't say anything.

The amber eyed she-cat let out a short huff of annoyance and looked at him before following the direction that his oddly coloured eyes were looking.

"The clans?" She questioned, "what's so interesting about them? Didn't mother say that they believe in the Star Cats too?"

"She did," he answered shortly, "they… interest me."

"There just groups of cats living by a lake that fight," she dismissively flicked an ear, "not so different from father's lot."

"We could join them," he pointed out, "maybe it would be better to live in a group…"

"Go ahead," she said, "I won't be joining you."

"Why? You think that you're better than them?"

"No, I don't _think_ that I'm better than them, I _know_ that I'm better than them!"

The tom let out a snort of what sounded like laughter but didn't say anything else.

"They kill Cursed cats," She turned to him, "that's what I heard… Why would you want to join them?"

"I could show them other wise," he looked up, slightly more keen than before, "I could show them that a Powered cat is more useful than a normal one."

"You sound like father." She remarked.

He shuddered, "I'd do it in a better way."

"How can you?"

"Just let me try," he sounded pained, "I just want to prove myself to someone."

She suddenly snapped, "you have me!"

He swiveled away from her, "but you don't care!"

She wrinkled her nose, "you spend too much time regretting than thinking of the benefits! Get over yourself!"

He suddenly got to his paws and skidded down the cliff, not looking back.

She froze, "you're going."

"You obviously are too busy murdering cats to care."

She wanted to send back a biting remark but bit back her tongue.

"Ace!" She called after him after a moment's silence, "stay safe!"

He glanced up at her, looking at his sister through violet eyes.

"I will, Amber, I promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Whoops! Haha! I wrote this all in one day, I'm proud of myself. This is just a quick chapter to get us back into the mix, but I hope it's good enough!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

It had been four moons since Duskpelt was banished from Pineclan and, ever since that, Stormpaw had found life to be quite boring. She was only a moon off from her warrior's assessment and Ace was supposed to be having his own today.

Ever since Duskpelt was banished, life in the clans had become routine. It was get up, do a patrol or go out hunting. Some days she would train with Shadowpaw and Ace, other days she would train with just Lionpelt by herself. When she wasn't doing any of that, she was training with Ace to control her powers which, she was glad to say, were perfectly controlled now.

Shadowpaw had also helped her train with her eye injury as she was now permanently blind in her left eye. It had been annoying at first but eventually, she'd gotten used to it.

Stormpaw hated Duskpelt for giving her the injury, how could he half blind his own kit? The thought of the ex-Pineclan deputy made her shudder, he was her and Shadowpaw's father and she hated that. But, after betraying Violetstar, he had been banished along with any of his loyal followers. But the grey apprentice had remained cautious, constantly checking for signs that any of the rogues had returned to the territory. She wouldn't put it past Duskpelt.

"Hey!" A voice made her jump.

Stormpaw looked up, shaking herself a little.

"Nice to have you back, Stormpaw," the new cat snorted, "I've been trying to get to you for ages."

She shoved past him, "yeah, yeah. I thought you had your assessment, Ace. Better not be wasting time with little old me."

Her eyes narrowed on a large, black bird in a tree, that would be good prey in the middle of leaf bare.

Ace sighed exasperated, "I'm not wasting time, _you_ missed the ceremony."

She shot up from her crouched position noisily, scaring the bird.

"I _missed it?_ " She huffed before turning away, "whoops."

"What are you even doing out here?" He padded alongside her, "it doesn't look like much hunting is being done."

"I have!" She argued, "my prey is buried somewhere else and it's not _my_ fault I missed the ceremony, Lionpelt has me hunting all day!"

"Well you didn't look like you were doing much to me," he remarked, "you were just standing there."

"I was thinking."

"About what?"

"About how much I would like to claw your fur off if you don't clear off!"

Ace flicked an ear and his whiskers twitched in amusement. "I was only dropping by to say hello," he said, "but also to tell you that Lionpelt wants you back."

"You could've said that in the first place!" She let out a huff of annoyance before padding in the opposite direction, "whilst you're here, you might as well help me carry my prey."

Ace swept his tail against the floor in acknowledgement and let Stormpaw lead him towards where she had buried her prey. Once all of it had been uncovered, they picked it up in their jaws and padded towards the sky oak where Lionpelt was waiting.

"Ace?" The golden warrior questioned, "haven't you got your assessment today?"

"I've done it already," he stretched, flexing his claws, "you just missed my ceremony."

Stormpaw's mentor stood there for a moment before dipping his head, "well I'm sorry that I did. Nice work, Stormpaw, we should be heading back to camp."

Lionpelt took the lead, allowing both Ace and Stormpaw to drop behind.

"You have your vigil tonight," she muttered to him "you'll miss the gathering."

"It's fine," he shrugged, "I went to the last one."

"It'll be a cold one," she glanced around her, "I'm surprised it hasn't snowed yet."

"It will," he said grumpily, "I wish it wouldn't, though."

She nodded in agreement but didn't say anything else as the group headed back to the camp.

Stormpaw had met Ace by the lake on her first day out as an apprentice, that was also when she'd discovered she was Cursed. At first, she'd been horrified but she had slowly gotten used to it and had learnt how to fully control her powers, thanks to Ace.

They pushed their way through the bramble entrance, emerging in the middle of Lightningclan camp. The moment she appeared, three kits came bounding up to her.

"Did you catch all that yourself?" Questioned Sandkit, standing on the tips of her paws to peer at the prey.

"Of course she did!" Scoffed Birdkit, "she's the best hunter in the whole forest."

Birdkit was much younger than Sandkit, only being born around three moons ago. She and her brother, Applekit, were Blueheart and Stonepelt's kits and had the energy to match that of Brownkit's and Sandkit's combined.

However, neither of them could hold anything against Brightkit.

"Stormpaw isn't the best hunter in all the forest!" Exclaimed the black and white kit, "I am!"

"Don't be silly!" Argued Birdkit, "you've never been hunting before!"

"That's what you think!" She shoved her nose in the air, "I caught something once."

' _Yes,'_ thought Stormpaw as she dropped her fresh kill on the pile, ' _when you snuck out of camp and ended up in Heatherclan territory.'_

Brightkit had a personality and determination that definitely rivalled that of Stormpaw and her brother when they'd been kits.

The silver-grey apprentice looked round camp. Lionpelt had padded to the the warrior's den to join Reddust and Greynose who were discussing something with one another. On top of the high ledge, both Ivyheart and Brackenstar were also deep in conversation about something that Stormpaw couldn't hear. From the brambles emerged Flamefern, Breezecloud and Patchfur, all laughing together. The three littermates had only been made warriors a couple of moons after the battle with Pineclan.

So, with Ace and the siblings now sleeping in the warrior's den, only left Shadowpaw and herself in the apprentice's den and Brightkit and her littermates were still an entire moon away from being apprenticed.

"Hey," her brother greeted as she sat next to him outside the apprentice's den.

"Hi," she responded lazily, "how's your day been?"

Shadowpaw shrugged, "well, I've had to listen to Gingerpool all day so not great."

Stormpaw let out a purr of amusement, he had always hated his mentor.

"Do you know whose going to the gathering?" She asked.

He shook his head, "no but it looks like Brackenstar's about to say."

Just like Shadowpaw had said, the golden brown leader had climbed to the top of the high ledge, ready to make an announcement.

As he made the call, the siblings got up and padded beneath the ledge, Stormpaw plonking down beside Ace who acknowledged her presence with a short flick of the ear.

"Tonight, I will be taking Lionpelt, Gingerpool, Breezecloud, Patchfur, Spottedclaw, Burntpelt, Shadowpaw and Stormpaw to the gathering. Ace will keep guard whilst on his vigil and I'll leave Reddust in charge of the camp."

Stormpaw, whilst happy that she was picked, noticed that quite a few cats were staying behind, was Brackenstar still worried about the threat of rogues.

"Come on," muttered Shadowpaw, "let's get some sleep before we go."

Stormpaw nodded in agreement and followed her brother inside. The den felt a larger and emptier without Ace inside, but she wasn't about to say anything.

She settled down in her nest that was beside Ace's old one, and fell asleep quicker than she expected.

* * *

Stormpaw was woken up by the sound of shuffling paws outside the den. It was dark out, so she quickly woke up her brother with a swift kick to his side. He groaned loudly at the violent awakening.

"What was that for?" He asked sleepily.

"We have to go," she got up, tipping her head towards the clearing, "hurry up."

Shadowpaw pushed himself upwards, quickly smoothing down his brown, tabby pelt with a couple swift licks and followed Stormpaw outside. The rest of the cats were gathered at the entrance, a couple finishing off some fresh kill. Patchfur beckoned her over and let her have the rest of his pidgeon. She grunted tiredly in thanks and quickly finished it all up.

Once everyone was ready, Brackenstar nodded to himself and beckoned everyone to leave with his tail. Stormpaw gave a quick smile to an annoyed looking Ace who was guarding the entrance.

Stormpaw padded beside Shadowpaw with heavy legs as they made their way across Lightningclan territory and into Heatherclan territory, intent on getting to the island.

When they finally arrived, both Rainclan and Pineclan were already there. Stormpaw readied herself to find the small group of apprentices she usually sat with to only be interrupted by a small, black shape jumping in front of her.

It was a small, lithe she-cat with ginger markings over her body and burning amber eyes.

"Starlingkit?" Questioned the silver apprentice.

"It's Starlingpaw, now," the younger cat pointed out, "I was made an apprentice."

"Really? When."

"Around half a moon a go," she nonchalantly licked a paw, "I'm already a better hunter than Stingpaw."

"Right," Stormpaw nodded, "how's the clan?"

"It's okay, though, our old deputy, Juniperfur, died."

"Who's deputy now?" Shadowpaw joined in the conversation.

Starlingpaw seemed to barely be able to keep in her excitement, "My mom!"

"Scarletclaw's deputy?" Shadowpaw seemed to nod in approval.

"That's great," Stormpaw suddenly lowered her voice, "and no sign of Duskpelt anywhere?"

"None at all, mouse-brained tom fled with his tail between his legs."

"Yeah?" The grey apprentice registered Heatherclan's arrival, "I hope that I never see his ugly muzzle ever again."

"Same here," her brother let out a large yawn,

"How's Brightkit?" Starlingpaw asked keenly, "and Sandkit?"

"Only a moon off being made apprentices," she said, "and they're about as hyper as ever."

"I'm exhausted just watching them," Shadowpaw put in.

"What about Ace?"

"He's a warrior now," Stormpaw told the younger apprentice, noting how Shadowpaw didn't hide his contempt for the ex-rogue.

"I think they're starting." He said, looking up at the trees.

Stormpaw's yellow gaze flickered upwards to the branches where the leaders usually sat, all were on their paws, looking over their clans as they waited for them to fall silent.

When they finally did, Aspenstar was the first to speak.

"All is well in Heatherclan," the brown and white tom announced, "prey is plentiful even in though it's leafbare and we have two new apprentices, Doepaw and Stagpaw!"

"Doepaw! Stagpaw!" The clans chanted loudly.

Once they had stopped, Aspenstar nodded to an old, frosty white tom.

"The prey in Rainclan is also running just as well," Snowstar told them, "we also have been blessed with new kits in the nursery. However, we have scented a couple of rogues on our territory moving towards Pineclan."

Stormpaw watched as Violetstar's eyes narrowed in suspicion but she nodded.

"Thank you for the warning, Snowstar," the black and white she-cat dipped her head, "prey is also running well in Pineclan. However, our old deputy, Juniperfur, has died of wounds from a fight with a badger, our clan mourns her."

Stormpaw noticed a few of the cats from other clans dip their heads, she reckoned that Juniperfur must've been popular.

"However, we now have a new deputy, Scarletclaw!"

"Scarletclaw! Scarletclaw!"

The clans chanted at an overwhelmingly loud volume.

"And we also have a new apprentice, Starlingpaw!"

Stormpaw made the effort to chant her Pineclan friend's name extra loud. She noticed Starlingpaw attempting to act casual, but she could see the hint of excitement in her eyes and the way her chest puffed out in pride.

Violetstar nodded to Brackenstar, who got to his paws.

"Prey is also plentiful in Lightningclan and we have also made a new warrior who cannot be here tonight as he is holding his vigil."

There were a couple of mews of pity at the idea of holding a vigil on such a bitingly cold night and Stormpaw couldn't help but giggle at the thought of Ace shivering outside in the freezing temperatures as the rest of the clan slept peacefully.

"Also, Featherpool will be moving to the nursery with the promise of new kits!"

' _Really?'_ The silver-grey apprentice wondered. ' _I didn't know that…'_

And, just like that, the gathering was over. All the clans split up, saying their final farewells to one another as one by one, they headed back over the tree bridge.

Stormpaw frowned, was this life now? Everything was so boring and repetitive.

She just wanted _something_ to happen.

* * *

 **A/N: Woohoo! The chapter is over! Lil' bit of filler basically but, next chapter, I can assure you that it will be 'going down.'**

 **Anyway, I've been thinking of writing a couple of 'spin-offs' for this series after I finish book 2 or 3. It's kind of like how Warrior's has its super editions. I have a couple of ideas for what I could do so just make some suggestions, I might get round to writing them all eventually, IDK.**

 **I could either write:**

 **Ivyheart's Regret**

 **or**

 **Violetstar's Path**

 **or**

 **Amber's Burden**

 **or**

 **Duskpelt's Power**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Stormpaw crouched down low, eying the large, fat pigeon in the tree. In such cold weather it would be a large treat for Lightningclan, all she had to do was catch it. The bird was positioned on a fairly low branch, if she jumped high enough she could easily catch it.

She crept forward, keeping her tail straight and her pawsteps gentle. She pushed through the long grass as quietly as she could, haunching up her muscles. In one powerful leap, she soared over the branch, grabbing the pigeon with her teeth as she flew over. She landed back on the ground, finishing off the struggling prey with a firm bite in the neck.

Satisfied, she picked up the fresh-kill and carried it over to where she had buried her other prey.

It had been a moon since the gathering and life was still as boring as ever. But not today, Stormpaw was in the middle of her final assessment, hunting near the Heatherclan border. Her brother had been sent to the other side of the territory to carry out his assessment, she wondered how he was doing.

It wasn't going great for her, the amount of snow and cold weather made it difficult to find any prey, the pigeon had been a lucky catch. It was almost mesmerising to see the entire forest blanketed in a thick, white coat of frost and snow but the cold was too biting to be able to really take in the beauty.

A mouse rustled in the ferns causing Stormpaw to prick up her ears. She lightly stepped on the floor, dropping into a low crouch. She carefully approached the mouse, keeping low to the floor.

She took one more step closer when she let out a yowl of shock.

She had stepped on a large hole covered with snow, causing her paw to drop through. The mouse, having heard the loud noise, scampered down a hole.

"Fox dung!" Cursed Stormpaw.

"It doesn't matter," a voice behind her made her jump, "you would've got it if it weren't for the snow, you've done enough already."

"Yes, Lionpelt." She dipped her head and went to where she had buried her prey.

Though she was relieved it was over, she couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed and worried. What if she hadn't done enough? Her hunting crouch might've been a little bit lopsided and not noticed.

"You did fine," Lionpelt reassured, as though he could tell what she was thinking.

Stormpaw silently hoped that he was right.

When they arrived back in camp, it was apparent that all the patrols had already returned and everyone seemed to be milling around camp. In the corner of her eye, Stormpaw noticed Greylight desperately trying to smooth down Brightkit's fur who was shuffling uncomfortably. Brownkit was rocking lightly on his paws whilst Sandkit was glancing around the clearing.

' _Are they already six moons old?'_ Wondered Stormpaw.

Lionpelt wandered towards Gingerpool who was waiting for him at the bottom of high ledge. Together, the two made their way up towards the leader's den.

Stormpaw shuffled on her paws, feeling as nervous as Brownkit.

"How did it go?" Her brother sat down beside her.

"I don't know," she sighed, "what about you?"

"Okay, I think." Shadowpaw shrugged, "I guess we're gonna have to find out."

"Are Greylight's kits being made apprentices?" She asked, craning her neck to look at the nursery.

"Yeah, they are; who do you reckon their mentors will be?"

"Beats me," she shrugged, "I think Brackenstar's about to say."

The two glanced up at high ledge to see the golden-brown tom glancing down at his clan.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under high ledge for a clan meeting."

Anyone who wasn't already in the clearing peered out of their dens to see what this was all about.

Once everyone was here, Brakenstar continued. "We have two very important things to announce today, first of all, we have three new apprentices to make."

Brightkit bounded closer into the crowd, followed by Sandkit and a hesitant Brownkit.

"Brightkit," the leader called making the kit squeak in excitement, "you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Brightpaw."

The black and white kit was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Your mentor will be Breezecloud"

The black and ginger warrior blinked in surprise.

"Breezecloud **,** you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Greynose, and you have shown yourself to be calm and smart. You will be the mentor of Brightpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

Breezecloud calmly approached the over excited she-cat and the two bumped noses together.

Then, Sandkit became Sandpaw and was apprenticed to Flamefern and Brownkit became Brownpaw and was apprenticed to Patchfur.

"Now, we move onto an equally as important ceremony." Brackenstar's gaze flickered down to Stormpaw and Shadowpaw.

"I, Brackenstar, leader of LightningClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn."

He glanced at her brother. "Shadowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?

"I do." Shadowpaw said evenly, Stormpaw wondered how he could be so calm

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Shadowpaw, from this moment onward you will be known as Shadowheart. StarClan honors your loyalty and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightningclan."

Stormpaw shook on her paws when she realised it was her turn.

"Stormpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life"

"I do," she said instantly.

"Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your new warrior name. Stormpaw, from this moment onward you will be known as Stormlight. Starclan honours your skill and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior as Lightningclan."

"Stormlight! Shadowheart!" The clan chanted their names loudly and the newly named she-cat felt a swell of pride.

"They will hold vigil tonight."

Storm _light_ wasn't overly bothered about this, she was a full warrior of Lightningclan now!

In the corner of her eye, she spotted Ace and grinned at him. He looked into her eyes and something flickered in his own before he grinned back.

But she didn't have time to wonder what the emotion was and forgot about it as cats swarmed around her to congratulate her.

* * *

"Get up, Stormlight," a voice shook the newly made warrior awake, "you're on patrol."

The silver-grey she-cat groaned before getting to her paws. She had held her vigil in the freezing cold and it felt like she had only just got to sleep. But, looking outside, it was well past sun high.

"Who's on patrol?" She asked Patchfur, who had shaken her awake.

"You, me, Breezecloud, Brownpaw and Brightpaw."

"Border patrol or hunting," she got to her paws and stretched out a little.

"Border," he replied, "so if you need to eat you can just grab something along the way."

"Thanks," she said sleepily, "I'll be right out."

"Okay," he nodded, pushing his way out of the warriors den.

She glanced around, Shadowheart was still asleep beside her but Ace, who was on her other side, was gone. She figured he must also be out on patrol.

Shaking the last feeling of stiffness from her legs, she padded out of the warrior's den and met up with the patrolling cats. She spotted Brightpaw wrestling with Brownpaw who wasn't doing much to fight back against his sister.

Breezecloud was just finishing off a mouse as he jumped over to meet them, pulling Brightpaw off of Brownpaw.

"She's gonna be a pawful," Stormlight muttered to him teasingly.

"She is," he agreed, flicking his tail, "let's go, I don't wanna be out here after dark."

"Yeah," Patchfur nodded, "come on you two."

The two apprentices followed the older cats, Brightpaw quickly taking the lead before seemingly getting lost and dropping to Breezecloud's side.

"We're just checking the Pineclan border today," said the black tom, "Stonepelt said that he scented a couple of scents over our border."

"They better not be back to their old tricks," remarked Patchfur.

"They won't be," Stormlight flicked an ear, "it's been calm since Duskpelt was banished."

"Who's Duskpelt?" Asked Brightpaw in a squeaky voice.

"Remember when you and your sister decided to follow Fogfur into Pineclan territory?" Breezecloud asked.

Brightpaw shrugged, "other cats told me about it but I don't remember."

"You would've been too young." Stormlight reminisced on how she, Ace and Shadowheart had all worked together to free the kidnapped kits.

"I remember how mad Brackenstar was at you," Patchfur laughed, "and at you too, Stormlight. I would've never at the guts to do what you did."

"I'm surprised I did," She flattened her ears at the compliment, "I hate Duskpelt, it's his fault I'm half blind."

Brightpaw glimpsed at her, "so you really can't see out of that eye?"

"Of course she can't," Brownpaw suddenly spoke up.

"That's so cool!" The black and white apprentice's eyes widened.

' _Yeah'_ Stormlight smirked to herself, ' _It is pretty cool.'_

The group went on ahead and Stormlight soon found herself dropping to the back with Patchfur as Breezecloud began to guide the two apprentices on their way to the Pineclan border.

"So…" The grey and white tom began, "what's going on between you and Ace?"

Stormlight jumped, "Ace and I? Nothing, why?"

"I'm not blind," the tom snorted, "you obviously seem to like each other…"

' _What is he implying?'_ She wondered.

"I like him, he's a friend." She said firmly.

"Are you sure he isn't _more_ than a friend."

"More than a friend?" Stormlight shook her head in confusion, "like best friends?"

"Oh you are so painfully oblivious," he muttered to himself, as though he were laughing, "I mean like mates."

"Mates?" She practically yelled the word, "n-no, he is- I am-" Why was she so flustered all of a sudden. "What I mean is that we're a little too young to be thinking about all that stuff."

"Is that what you think?" He cocked his head to one side.

"Yes!" She said quickly, "it is."

"Well, I think you two go well together."

"Look," she began with a over dramatic sigh, "if you want to gossip all day, go join the queens in the nursery because Ace and I are _not_ a thing."

"Sure," the tom sniggered to himself.

Stormlight was about to shoot back with another snarky remark when Breezecloud interrupted.

"Stonepelt was right!" The tom growled to himself, "check out this bush, you lot!"

Stormlight padded over to where the ginger and black warrior was, giving the bush a good sniff. Patchfur did the same, his eyes widening in surprise. Both Brightpaw and Brownpaw seemed to reel from the unfamiliar smell. Stormlight sniffed the bush again, trying to pinpoint the scent.

"Wait a minute…" she muttered to herself, "this isn't Pineclan…"

"Are you mouse-brained?" Scoffed Breezecloud, "yeah, it is!"

"No," she shook her head, "it's D-"

Her voice was cut off as the sound of pawsteps crushing bracken entered their ears.

"That's right, kit," the voice said, "it's me."

Stormlight growled, "Duskpelt!"

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, dun, duuuuuun! I had lots of fun writing this chapter! What do you guys think of Shadowheart and Stormlight's new names? And what do you think of Patchfur and Breezecloud? I realised that I didn't really get a chance to introduce them last book.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Maybe leave a review or something?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

The ex-Pineclan deputy stood in front of her, his blue eyes holding a smug expression as he looked down at her and the patrol. Somehow, he seemed to have got taller since they last met.

She glanced behind him to see four other cats also standing with faces filled with victory and pride. Stormlight unsheathed her claws, digging them into the floor.

"What are you rogues doing on Lightningclan territory?" Breezecloud moved to stand beside her.

Stormlight noticed that he was shielding the two young apprentices behind him. They had no training, they were completely untrained and standing in front of rogues who wouldn't hold back.

"Just going for a walk," a dark ginger she-cat grinned, "do you kits have a problem with that?"

"I'm not a kit!" Came the loud voice of Brightpaw.

' _You mouse-brain!'_ Stormlight inwardly cursed the apprentice.

Duskpelt flicked an ear and glared at the young cat through judging eyes. "You look like one to me."

"I am not!"

Stormlight felt her anxiety growing as Brightpaw's frustration increased, they'd be no stopping her now.

"Brightpaw, Brownpaw," Patchfur hissed at the apprentices, "back to camp, now!"

Brownpaw nodded and scurried off but Brightpaw didn't seem to have heard and was still glaring at Duskpelt.

Stormlight shoved the apprentice, "camp! Now!"

"Oh let the _kit_ stick around," Duskpelt laughed to himself, "an apprentice needs to learn a little bit of violence."

"This doesn't have to end in a fight," Stormlight faced her father, "just get off of our territory and we'll forget this happened."

Something flashed in his eyes, "No! This isn't over, _kit,_ " he sneered, "I'll blind your other eye if I have to!"

Stormlight flattened her ears, "so be it."

Without warning or any prior thought, the silver-grey warrior leapt at the ex-deputy, knocking him off of his paws. He let out a growl of annoyance as the other warriors, Brightpaw included, began to attack.

"Brightpaw, you mouse-brain!" Stormlight found herself distracted, "get out of here!"

But the black and white apprentice didn't seem to listen as she attempted to claw a warrior twice her size.

She didn't have time to worry about her as Duskpelt knocked the side of her head.

"A backup patrol will come," she spat at him, "there's no point in sticking around."

"By the time they do I will be gone and you will be dead," he snarled back.

She swiped at his face but he ducked neatly and swerved out of the way as he attempted to leap at him. He pinned her to the floor as she violently struggled.

"Why come back?"

"Revenge," he spat at her, "once you're dead I'll kill you then your brother and mother and that stinkin' rogue!"

She sent a surprise slash across his face, sending him reeling backwards.

Duskpelt lifted up his head to attack back, but she was done.

She wasn't too late! Brightpaw was still struggling underneath the warrior she vaguely recognised as Darkspots. Stormlight knocked straight into him, causing him to fall onto his side. She grabbed the apprentice by the scruff and pulled her back onto her paws.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at her.

"Fighting!" Squeaked Brightpaw.

"These are _rogues_ ," Stormlight emphasised, "they won't hesitate to kill you."

"Not if I get there first."

The older cat sighed, "Brightpaw, listen-"

But before she finished her sentence, she was knocked off of her paws. Duskpelt had raked her flank with such force she had fallen to the floor. She got back into a crouch, putting all her effort into defending Brightpaw.

"It's pointless," Duskpelt seemed to laugh to himself, "you know you can't defeat me! And your mouse-brained friends too!"

Stormlight glanced around to see Breezecloud and Patchfur behind her, pinned to the ground as they desperately struggled against the rogues.

Stormlight pressed herself against Brightpaw who seemed to finally be realising the danger she was in.

"Just _leave_ , Duskpelt!" She hissed at him, "please!"

The dark furred tabby shook his head, "it's over, kit."

Stormlight was ready to shove Brightpaw out of the way when a sudden shock blew Duskpelt off of his paws. The warrior blinked down at the now knocked over deputy who looked around confused. What had just happened?

Glancing around, she spotted a new patrol of Lightningclan cats consisting of Lionpelt, Gingerpool, Flamescar, Stonepelt and Ace, all looking shocked at something behind Stormlight.

She followed their gaze to see Patchfur standing there looking down at his paws, his face filled with horror.

The rogues, including Duskpelt, quickly fled at the chance, but no cat ran after them.

"He's Cursed!" Spat Gingerpool.

"I-I," Patchfur seemed at loss for words, "I didn't know-"

Lionpelt shoved his way to the front of the patrol, knocking out Patchfur with a powerful blow to the head.

"Someone help me take _it_ back to camp," Lionpelt growled as he grabbed the warrior by the scruff.

Gingerpool and Stonepelt instantly went up to help him as Stormlight just stood there in horror. Her gaze was drawn to Breezecloud who was looking at his brother desperately as if willing him to do something.

"What do we do?" She whispered to Ace as the tom fell into pace beside her.

"Nothing," he replied, "it would be too risky."

"But Patchfur is my friend!" She hissed, "they'll kill him."

"Yes, they will. But if you want to fight your own clanmates and end up dying in the process then go ahead, but I wouldn't recommend it."

"I'm just scared, Ace, he's your friend too, isn't he?"

Ace seemed at loss for words, "w-we'll figure out something, okay? I-I don't know what to do."

Stormlight didn't feel very comforted by the tom's words but nodded anyway, glancing at Patchfur's unconscious body dangling from Lionpelt's jaws. She noticed Breezecloud behind her walking stiffly, as though he were terrified, she couldn't blame him. That's when she remembered Brightpaw.

"Hey," she dropped back to the young apprentice, "are you okay?"

Brightpaw let out a shaky nod, "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For trying to fight, I just wanted to help, but it's my fault-"

"Nothing's your fault," Stormlight promised her.

"I-is Patchfur really evil?" Brightpaw looked up into her eyes.

Ace suddenly dropped beside her, "no, he's not."

Brightpaw looked confused as if she was expecting a different answer.

"But he's Cursed! Surely-"

"Just, don't alway listen to what everyone says," Ace glanced over at Patchfur, "not every Cursed cat has bad intentions."

They arrived in camp, Stormlight felt her breath hitch in her throat as she watched cats poke their heads out the dens to see what all the commotion was about.

Lionpelt dumped Patchfur's body in the centre of camp as he began to stir. Brackenstar emerged from his den with Ivyheart behind him. The leader glanced down at his warrior and a misty look came over his eyes for a few seconds before vanishing.

"Lionpelt," he said, "I thought you were on the backup patrol against those rogues."

"I was, and we fought them off," Lionpelt sent a spiteful look at Patchfur, "and we almost had them beaten."

' _That's a lie,'_ Stormlight noted suddenly feeling a strange sort of deja-vu.

"Then what happened?" The leader questioned.

"Patchfur turned against us, he's Cursed!"

"Turned against us?" Ace muttered in her ear, "he saved you and Brightpaw from Duskpelt."

Stormlight wanted to yell at the leader that Patchfur was innocent, but she knew it wouldn't work…

"I didn't know!" Patchfur cried out to his leader, "I swear!"

"Kill him!" Cried one cat, "he's Cursed!"

"He's a traitor and a liar," said another, "you can't trust him!"

' _This is just like what happened with Mouseeyes,"_ reminisce Stormlight.

She could clearly remember her first ever Cursed execution where the warrior, Mouseeyes, was killed after talking to a dog.

"Can the rest of your patrol confirm this?" Brackenstar questioned.

Flamescar stepped up first, "we can!"

Stormlight flattened her ears as she watched Patchfur painfully get to his paws.

"I'm not a traitor, please just banish me!" He was on the verge of sobbing, "I don't want to die."

"It's too late for that, _Cursed scum_!" Lionpelt hissed at him as the clan jeered insults at him.

Brackenstar stood emotionless on the top of the high rock, "step forward, Breezecloud."

Stormlight could feel her blood run cold as Patchfur's littermate was called up, was Brackenstar going to force him to kill him? She glanced at Breezecloud was shaking violently, he looked in no shape to be doing any sort of murdering.

"Where's your sister?" Brackenstar asked calmly.

Stormlight glanced around, where was Flamefern.

"O-on patrol," Breezecloud answered shakily.

"Then you'll just have to do," Brackenstar sighed, "kill him."

Patchfur began to shake his head violently. Stormlight stepped forward but Ace blocked her path.

Breezecloud seemed to freeze, slowly turning to his brother and unsheathing his claws.

The clan fell silent and Stormlight could feel her heart pounding loudly.

"No…" the quiet whisper came from Breezecloud.

She pricked up her ears in surprise and felt Ace stiffen.

"Pardon?" Brackenstar snarled.

"I said 'no!'" The warrior turned to his leader, "I have been raised by my brother for my entire life, don't you think I would've noticed if he was evil? I won't kill him!"

The golden brown leader seemed to pause, figuring out what to do.

"Then you will die too."

As if there was an unspoken command, five cats leapt at the two young warriors, screeching obscenities and curses. Stormlight backed away, pressing herself against Ace. She could feel Brightpaw shivering beside her, she couldn't imagine how scared the apprentice must've felt, one of those cats being attacked was her mentors!

Her heart was pounding as those on the sidelines chanted loudly, eyes glimmering as they watched their own clanmates kill each other.

Stormlight noticed Brownpaw crouched at the entrance of the apprentice's den, his view mainly blocked by Greylight who seemed to be muttering something to herself as she disapprovingly shook her head.

"It is done," Lionpelt was the first to break away from the group of fighting cats.

The other attackers backed off slowly to reveal the two bodies of Patchfur and Breezecloud lying side by side, covered in blood and scratches.

At that exact moment, a patrol consisting of Shadowheart, Flamefern and Sandpaw enter the camp.

The crowd had divided up at this point but most of them froze when they saw the sister of the two dead brothers enter the camp.

Flamefern paused, confused to why everyone in the camp was staring at her. Stormlight noticed a sudden flash of anger on Shadowheart's face as he saw the two dead bodies. He pushed his way through the group of cats outside the warrior's den and vanished from sight.

Flamefern's ears were pressed against her head as she approached her brothers, giving them a gentle sniff.

The dark grey she-cat stopped.

"They were traitors," Flamescar spat at her, "they deserved to die."

But the she-cat didn't seem to hear as she reared her head back and let out a yowl.

The silver-grey warrior cringed, she had never heard something so agonising and heartbroken in her life. It broke her heart just to listen to it, watching a sister mourn over her brothers.

And Stormlight hoped she would never have to experience a pain like that _ever_ in her life.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if any of you liked Patchfur and Breezecloud… They're dead now… so…**

 **Anyway, please don't forget to give me your suggestions on what 'novella' I should write for the characters in this series (the list of options is in the A/N in chapter 2 if you were wondering)**

 **Edit: Fanfiction has just been so shitty lately! My posts aren't working at all! If anyone follows this story, can you please let me know if you're receiving update emails every time I update?**

 **This is the last time I'm gonna attempt to put this up because I cba anymore**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

"What are you two gonna do?" Shadowheart paced from side to side.

Ace shrugged, "we have complete control over our powers, we have nothing to worry about."

"It doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious," Stormlight's brother hissed at him.

The ex-rogue flicked an ear, "we're not gonna get caught and since when did you worry about me?"

"I'm not worried about you," Shadowheart snorted, "but whatever you do, my sister ends up following. If one of you's in trouble, so is the other."

"What can I say? Stormlight's a fan of me."

"I am here, you know." Stormlight sighed as the toms bickered.

"Seriously," Shadowheart turned to her, "what if the clan does catch you? What if you slip when fighting? They'll try to kill you, what will you do then?"

Ace said, "we'll fight them," at the same time that Stormlight said, "we'll run away."

The two looked at each other.

"Fight them?" The silver-grey she-cat shook her head, "their my clan, my family, I couldn't fight them."

"It's not difficult to tell that you were a rogue," Shadowheart added the jab, "you can't just attack your own clan."

"Both of you are mouse-brains!" Growled Ace, growing frustrated, "Patchfur and Breezecloud probably felt the same and look what happened to them! We'd have to fight back, I'm not gonna killed for something I was _born_ with!"

"Keep your voice down, Ace!" Stormlight hissed, glancing around.

They were by the sky oak, all three of them wanting to ditch the clan for a little while. Shadowheart had been worried about Stormlight being discovered as a Cursed after the incident with Patchfur and Breezecloud. She hoped that by the time they walked back into the hollow, the two dead bodies would be gone, she felt sick to look at them.

"I'm just saying, we might not have another choice." The dark grey tom clawed the ground.

"Then we keep our powers in control," Stormlight glanced at Shadowheart to see a doubtful look on his face, "we can control them!"

"I know," her brother sighed, "I'm just unsettled after today."

"Can't blame you," Ace snorted in agreement in his usual light humorous tone but Stormlight thought she could hear a hint of anger in it.

"I wish we could prove that Cursed cats are just like anyone else!" Shadowheart scratched the floor.

' _With the way he's acting, cats would think that he was Cursed himself,'_ Stormlight remarked to herself.

"There's no way we could convince them," snorted the grey she-cat, "they're too stubborn."

Ace and Shadowheart seemed to exchange a knowing glance that Stormlight blinked in confusion to, but didn't press on it.

"It doesn't matter," Ace glimpsed up at the sky, "they'll be wondering where we are."

Stormlight peered past the Sky Oak and out onto the lake in front of them. The setting sun's reflection of orange and gold was cast out onto the rippling waters as the waves were moved along gently in the light breeze.

"Let's go back," she sighed.

Ace nodded, getting to his paws. Stormlight was prepared to follow when she noticed Shadowheart looking out on the lake.

"You coming?" She asked.

He turned to her, "I'll be a second, I need a moment to think."

"Okay," she cocked her head to the side, "I'll see you back at camp then, I guess."

"Yeah, see ya."

Shrugging to herself, Stormlight went to follow where Ace had gone, only to find that the tom had gone ahead.

She sniffed the air, noting that he wasn't too far ahead. She was downwind to him, meaning she was picking up his scent easily. She sniffed it again, she swore she could smell something else.

"Boo!"

A voice made her jump, as she turned to see who it was.

 _Duskpelt_ seemed to be laughing manically to himself at his entrance and Stormlight noticed that he was looking more disheveled than he did back when he was deputy. She must've not realised when she was fighting earlier the same day but her father seemed to have a more insane feel about him. His blue eyes were wide and tired, his fur was messy and his teeth gleamed a disgusting yellow in the light of the sunset.

"I thought you and your buddies had cleared off!" She snarled, trying to sound more confident than she was.

Duskpelt snickered, "those _bastards_ ran off, they were scared."

Stormlight unsheathed her claws, arching her back, "you can't take the clan on on your own."

"I'm not here for the clan," he took a step forward, "I'm tired of _all_ of this! I was a mouse-brain! I thought getting kits would give me power but it was a lie. I'm done with that now."

' _Huh?'_ Stormlight felt confused.

"What do you want then?"

Duskpelt took another step forward, "I want revenge!"

"On who?"

"On everyone!" Duskpelt yowled at her, causing her to shrink down.

"On Violetstar, Scarletclaw, your _mother_ , that damned rouge, your brother but especially," his blue eyes dug violently into hers, "I want you dead."

He suddenly raised his claws and swiped down at her neck.

Stormlight let out a loud screech of surprise and fell backwards to avoid the attack.

"This is _all_ your fault!" He growled, "I've lost _everything_ because of you!"

"It's your own fault!" She told him, dodging another attack, "you brought this all on yourself!"

"Lies!" He hissed in her face.

Her fur bristled in fear, what could this cat do?

He began to laugh and wouldn't stop. He reared his head back and just cackled.

"You're insane," she whispered, "you're completely mad."

Duskpelt stopped, glancing at her with a glint in his eye.

"You want to know what I could do?" Duskpelt took a step forward, "I can see into your brain, I see into everyone's brain! I know the secrets of everyone!"

Stormlight folded her ears back, "I know."

"But you know what else I know?" He began to laugh again.

"What?" She dared to ask, wondering if she should really be listening to the nonsense he was talking.

"Don't trust them," he said between laughing, "don't trust the rogue."

He leaned in close to her face, wasn't he trying to kill her a moment to go?

"W-what rogue?" She tipped her head.

He laughed again.

"What? Are you talking to Ace?"

He only laughed harder in response.

"You're a liar!" She spat at him, "Ace is a good cat, unlike you!"

Duskpelt stopped, his maniacal grin fading. "You're forgetting something," he growled, "I can see into his mind, I know what he's planning."

She tried to ignore him, "get out of here before I kill you."

"Kill me?" He chuckled a little bit, "oh no, kit, you're the one who will be killed."

Before Stormlight could react, Duskpelt was already landing solid blows on her faster than she could think.

She dodged backwards, stumbling over bushes and brambles as her leg got caught.

Duskpelt's eyes seemed to gleam in victory as he raised a claw.

Stormlight's breathing slowed, what was the point?

"No!" A black shape leapt in front of her, kicking Duskpelt with their back legs.

Stormlight wriggled out of the brambles, looking to see her helper.

"Ivyheart!" Snarled Duskpelt, getting to his paws.

Her mother didn't hesitate and leapt onto the tom, pinning him down underneath her.

"Don't you dare hurt my kit!" The black she-cat snarled at him.

Duskpelt laughed, "there's no way of beating me, Ivyheart, I can see into your mind!"

For some unknown reason, Ivyheart began to laugh. Duskpelt's mad grin dropped from his face.

"What?" He hissed, "what is it?"

"If you can see my thoughts, then tell me what I'm thinking."

Duskpelt's eyes seemed to narrow before widening, "h-how-"

"I know you _too_ well Duskpelt," She laughed, "you can see my mind but you can't see my thoughts."

He looked confused, "how is this possible?"

"You control your powers through emotion," she leant down to him, "so I can block yours by emotion."

"What?"

"I trained too, I swore to myself that I would never fall for you or another Cursed cat's tricks again." She narrowed her eyes, "and now you're powerless against me!"

"L-liar!" He growled.

"You know I'm not lying," she looked at him coldly, "and I'm sorry if you think that _I_ was the one who ruined your life."

Duskpelt opened his mouth but no words came out.

"But you ruined your own life, Duskpelt," she looked down at him, "and mine."

"Ivyheart…" He seemed to chuckle nervously.

"No, Duskpelt," she sighed, "I won't let you destroy anyone else's lives."

The black she-cat, with Duskpelt pinned under her, swiped her claw right across his throat. The tom let out one last strangled cry of pain, rearing his head up, before his blue eyes went glassy and his head fell to the floor, staring out onto the lake with lifeless eyes.

And Duskpelt was dead.

But Stormlight's heart was still racing.

What had he meant about Ace, what _was_ he planning.

' _No,'_ Stormlight shook his head, ' _Duskpelt was just messing with me, he was crazy. Ace is a loyal cat, he isn't planning anything.'_

* * *

 **A/N: I think I just drowned in foreshadowing! That chapter had so much foreshadowing that I think Duskpelt actually died from the amount of it. Speaking of Duskpelt, he's dead! Woohoo! That scene was so much fun to write! I've never really write "** _ **crazy**_ " **people and that was actually really fun. But if he is dead... then who is the villain?**

 **Also I was gonna have Ace kill Duskpelt but I felt like Ivyheart deserved that honour.**

 **Please review! I hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Stormlight had only felt relief when she had told the clan about Duskpelt's death. Most of them had rejoiced and agreed to celebrate with a feast. Only a few weren't so happy.

Ace and Shadowheart were talking in the shade of the clearing, their voices low and their facial expressions giving away nothing as they talked and glanced at two bodies lumped in the shadows. Another cat was also staring, Brightpaw was shaking viciously from what looked like fear and Flamefern was glaring at the clan through narrowed, green eyes. Her claws were unsheathed and dug into the floor, her mouth curled back into an angry snarl. Stormlight couldn't help but feel bad, Patchfur had been trying to save her neck when he accidentally activated his Powers.

Carefully, she trotted over to the darker grey she-cat.

"What," Flamefern spat, "here to tell me why I'm wrong to mourn over my brothers?"

Stormlight reeled back and glanced around. Reddust, who was sitting next to Flamescar, looked at the two younger warriors and whispered something to his friend. The ginger warrior sent a scathing glare to Flamefern and whipped his head away.

"No," Stormlight shook her head, "I'm here to see if your okay."

"Do I look okay?" Flamefern glared at her, "my brothers are _dead_ and no one else in this clan even cares!"

"Hey!" She cut in, "Patchfur and Breezecloud were my friends too, they were my den mates, of course I care!"

"But they were Cursed!" Flamefern seemed more angry at something else rather than Stormlight, "they deserved to die…"

"Do you believe that?"

"No, I don't. But the clan's got to," now she just sounded miserable.

"I don't care what the clan thinks," Stormlight assured her, "Patchfur and Breezecloud were strong warriors and they didn't deserve to die and I know that I'm not the only one who thinks this."

Flamefern looked at her through green eyes and then back at the clan with a smouldering green gaze.

"I think you're right."

Stormlight noticed Ace standing up and padding over to the empty warrior's den.

She excused herself from Flamefern and followed him in.

"What was all that about?" She asked, padding forward, "you and Shadowheart can hardly ever hold a conversation without it ending up in tension or an argument."

Ace seemed to jump, taken off guard by her presence.

"W-we were just talking," it took him a moment to regain himself.

Stormlight suddenly found herself thinking about what Duskpelt had said to her.

" _Don't trust the rogue,"_ was what he had said to her.

Stormlight folded her ears in thought before flashing back to reality.

"About what?" She questioned lightly, "were you planning something?"

"P-planning something?" He stuttered out, Stormlight had never seen him like this before, "no, we were talking about Duskpelt and Flamefern's brothers."

' _I hope he's telling the truth,'_ she silently thought.

"Look, Stormlight," Ace sighed, "I've been wanting to tell you something."

She pricked up her ears, "what is it?"

He glanced around and spotted someone. She turned to see Brackenstar entering the den.

"Just a minute," he hissed.

"Stormlight, Ace," Brackenstar let out a sigh of relief, "I thought you might be in here."

"What do you need?" Stormlight couldn't help but notice the scorn in Ace's tone as he faced his leader.

Brackenstar sighed, "I would do a full ceremony of this, but I don't want to make Flamefern even more upset than she already is."

' _How considerate,'_ Stormlight thought angrily, feeling Ace bristle beside her.

"So," Their leader continued, unaware of the mounting tension, "as they no longer have mentors, I want you two could take over training for Brownpaw and Brightpaw."

Stormlight spluttered, "me? I've hardly been a warrior for a day!"

Brackenstar didn't look pleased with her disrespectful tone but he continued anyway.

"You seemed to have formed a bond with the apprentices and your brother will be helping out too."

"Okay," Ace dipped his head, "we'll start tomorrow."

Brackenstar nodded, "thank you."

Then he left the den, leaving the two cats alone. They exchanged a glance.

"Starclan! I hate that cat," Ace growled to himself.

Stormlight couldn't help but agree, "what did you want to say then?"

Ace frowned, "I don't really want to say it in here, can we go for the walk."

She chuckled, "Ace, it's night, the clan will be wondering where we are if we just vanished."

He shrugged, "tomorrow then, after we take the apprentices out training."

"Agreed."

* * *

Brightpaw swiped at her brother, leaping on top of him, causing him to tumble backwards.

"Be careful, Brightpaw!" Called Stormlight with an exasperated sigh, "we're not here to play."

The young cat glanced up, "i'm only practicing."

"Get off your brother," she ordered, "you're only going to be doing battle training on us, not on him."

"You mean I get to fight you?" Brightpaw pricked her ears up.

Shadowheart cut in, "we're just going to be showing you some moves."

Brightpaw's eyes didn't dim, though. They were lit a burning blue and filled with excitement as she sat tall in the sandy clearing. Brownpaw beside her was just licking the sand out of his fur, looking just as nervous and timid as ever.

Stormlight was relieved that both of them had gotten over yesterday's deaths quickly and seemed to be back to their normal selves.

"Now," she began, remembering what her a Shadowheart had planned beforehand, "we're gonna start off with a couple of useful moves and they are quite complicated, so don't be worried if you don't get them on your first try."

She nodded to Shadowheart who drew himself into the middle of the clearing.

"Now," he said, "this move is effective against cats that are larger and thus slower than you."

Stormlight padded in front of Shadowheart, crouched and ready.

When her brother nodded, she rushed forward. When he reacted by bringing his paw down on her face, she dodged sideways and rammed into his side. As he was much bigger than her, this didn't affect him too much but it lasted long enough for her to leap over and ram his _other_ side. At this point, Shadowheart was easy to pin down to the ground.

She let him up and he shook herself.

"Can either of you tell me what Stormlight did?" He asked.

Brightpaw, unsurprisingly, was quick to answer. "She used her speed and size to confuse you."

"And how would that be effective against an opponent?"

"Well she managed to pin you down, which makes your opponent easier to kill!"

"Warriors don't kill," Stormlight said instantly.

A hard look came over Brownpaw's eyes, "unless they're Cursed."

Stormlight glanced at the apprentice in surprise. The timid cat never really spoke back or was ever disrespectful. But the amount of anger and scorn in his voice then made her physically flinch. She reminded herself that Patchfur had been his mentor and whilst it was only for a day, he was probably still angry over it.

" _Good_ warriors don't kill," Shadowheart suddenly said.

Brightpaw glared at him, confused. "Are you saying that there are cats in our clan that aren't good? Are you saying Brackenstar's not good?"

Stormlight searched her eyes for anger at Shadowheart's words but only saw confusion and curiosity.

"We're not here to discuss clan politics," he responded gruffly.

Stormlight was relieved that her brother was there to do this. She didn't know how Ace would respond to a question like that but she didn't think it would be an answer with a positive influence. Ace had been forced out on a hunting patrol and left the two littermates to train the apprentices themselves.

"Now, Brownpaw, you try it on me and Brightpaw, you try it on Stormlight." Shadowheart ordered.

Before she could even register what was happening, Brightpaw was barreling down towards Stormlight. The silver-grey she-cat went to land a blow but Brightpaw leapt to the side.

' _She's good at this,'_ Stormlight thought to herself.

Brightpaw rammed her in the side, but it wasn't hard at all. She went to jump over Stormlight but she had moved out of the way leaving Brightpaw to just fall straight onto the floor.

"You need to be quicker with your leap and put more force when you ram in the side."

Brightpaw nodded, determination sparking in her eyes, and tried again.

By the end of the training session, the two younger siblings had mastered the move easily and both were tired.

"Can we go back to camp?" Brightpaw asked.

"Not yet," Shadowheart told her, "we'll just give you a quick tour around the territory first."

She leapt to her paws, "What? Really?"

Beside her, Brownpaw let out a quiet groan of annoyance.

"Follow me, Brightpaw," Stormlight flicked her tail, thinking that Brownpaw would like some time away from his sister.

She followed eagerly, bounding beside her with heavy paw steps and chattering like crazy. Stormlight silently groaned, this cat was already giving her a headache and it wasn't even sun high yet.

"This is the Sky Oak," Stormlight told her, "it's where you'll train to climb trees and there's also a few good hunting spots around."

But Brightpaw wasn't listening, "is that the lake?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I'd be careful, I fell into it on my first time seeing it."

But, once again, the apprentice wasn't paying attention and was already bounding towards it. Stormlight cautiously followed her, expecting the apprentice to do something else that was rash or plain stupid.

Brightpaw dipped her nose into the water, fascinated, before abruptly pulling it out a sneezing.

"Mother said that the lake would be cold," Brightpaw turned to Stormlight, "I think it's quite nice."

"Nice?" Stormlight dipped her paw in before instantly drawing it back, "it's freezing!"

"No it's not," Brightpaw frowned, "Are you mad?"

Stormlight sighed, "if you want to go for a swim then that's fine, but we should really-"

But there was no point, Brightpaw had already dived straight into the water.

"Brightpaw, have you got squirrels in your brain?" The silver-grey she-cat desperately tried to look into the lake's depths to see if she could see Brightpaw, but the black and white she-cat was only a shadow in the water.

"Brightpaw?" She was tempted to just jump straight in herself but her fear held her back.

' _Get over it, Stormlight!'_ She growled to herself, ' _the water's not that deep.'_

She took a deep breath in and dived into the water.

Instantly, panic flooded her as the water engulfed her. She squinted, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her eyes. To her surprise, Brightpaw was happily floating in the water, as though she could breathe.

Stormlight began to paddle over to her, trying to force her way to the surface to breathe, but it wasn't working. Her fur was too thick and water just dragged her down.

Brightpaw seemed to notice this and desperately swam over to her mentor, attempting to grab her by the scruff and drag her up. But she was too heavy and there wasn't much she could do to help as her conscious began to fade.

And then she woke up. Her head broke the surface and she was suddenly breathe again. Without hesitating, she swam forward quickly to the shallower part in the water, standing as the water lapped her paws.

She noticed that where she had burst out of the water, their seemed to be a fountain of water, pushing her upwards.

She frowned, that wasn't there before.

It wasn't until Brightpaw's head broke the surface with panicked stricken look did Stormlight finally figure it out.

Brightpaw was Cursed.

* * *

 **A/N: Who** _ **isn't**_ **Cursed these days? I love Brightpaw, I think she's quickly becoming one of my favourite characters to write. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Brightpaw repeated over and over again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Stormlight sighed, flattening her ears with an annoyed grimace. It had taken forever just to get the apprentice back onto land rather than let her flail around in the lake.

"Brightpaw-" She began but was cut off again.

"I am so sorry!" She wailed, "I didn't know, please, I don't want to die."

"Brightpaw," Stormlight repeated, trying to get her attention.

"I'll leave the clans," the apprentice continued to blubber, "I'll go to the mountains an live there where I'm out of your way. Please just don't kill me!"

"Brightpaw!" The silver-grey she-cat shouted, causing the black an white she-cat to jump. "Look."

Stormlight lifted up her paw, allowing tiny sparks of lightning to dance around it. Brightpaw's brilliant blue eyes grew round as she stared at it.

"Y-you're Cursed too?" She stuttered out, glancing up at the older cat.

Stormlight nodded, placing her paw back on the ground, "I've known since I was an apprentice."

"S-so you're not gonna t-tell Brackenstar?"

She shook her head, "no, never."

Brightpaw let out a loud sigh of relief.

"However," Stormlight continued, "you do need to learn how to control your power, just in case."

Brightpaw nodded obediently, Stormlight guessed she was so shaken that she was just going along with whatever she was saying.

"Are you gonna help me?" Brightpaw pricked up her ears.

She nodded, "and I'll have some help too."

"Who?" She tipped her head to the side.

Stormlight smirked to herself, "oh, I know a cat."

* * *

"What?" Ace flattened his ears, "another Cursed?"

"Yes," Stormlight nodded, "she saved me from drowning."

"And you want my help to train her?" He asked.

"I know it's gonna be hard, especially considering how suspicious and hostile the clan is towards Cursed cats right now," sighed the light grey she-cat, "but I don't want to just _let_ Brightpaw die!"

"Me neither," Ace nodded, "of course I'll help."

"Ah, thank you."

Stormlight lay down onto the floor, gazing out onto the moonlight bathed lake. The two had snuck out of camp to sit at their usual spot by the lake, looking out onto the water. She yawned, breathing in the fresh, night air.

"You wanted to tell me something?" She glanced up at her friend who was sitting beside her.

"Yeah," he began, "I was just wondering, what you thought of the clan."

"The clan?" She frowned, "as in Lightningclan?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean?" Stormlight glanced at her.

"With all the things going on, especially with Breezecloud and Patchfur being killed, how loyal are you?"

' _Is this a test?'_ She wondered.

"I'm loyal to my clan, Ace," she told them, "and I hate what they're doing but they're still my family and I still love them."

Ace sighed, "I don't understand your idea of loyalty, these cats would kill you if they ever found out about your power."

Stormlight chuckled, "if you're not loyal to the clan, who are you loyal to?"

"I'm loyal to you," the reply was almost instant.

Stormlight could feel herself getting hot under her pelt, "really?"

"Yeah, you're nice and stuff," Ace looked across the lake, "I guess. Better than how anyone else in this clan has treated me."

"How do they treat you?" She asked.

"Like a rogue," he kicked the sand into the water, "sometimes it feels like you're the only cat who actually seems to care."

"That's a lie," she chuckled, "I'm pretty sure Brightpaw admires you and Shadowheart's your friend too."

"I think," Sighed Ace, "what I'm trying to say is that I don't think I want to be loyal to the clan."

Stormlight frowned, "are you… Leaving?"

"No, no," he said quickly, "but I- Starclan, I don't know how to say this."

Stormlight pushed herself back into a sitting position, pressing herself against Ace whose gaze remained fixed on the lake.

"Say what? just say it, Ace."

"Stormlight," he looked at her, "I… Like you…"

Stormlight grinned, "you like me?"

"Yeah, like, like you." Ace shuffled his paws.

She turned to him, a grin on her face.

"Well, Ace, I like you two."

* * *

 **A/N: THis chapter is painfully short and I'm sorry. The conclusion to this book is coming up and lemme tell you, plot twists are the best! Y'all are probably going to hate me with the cliffhanger I end this book on whoops (by the way, this series is a trilogy so the next book will be the finale).**

 **Also, what do you think of Ace x Storm? I need opinions.**

 **As well as that, don't forget to check out my new story '** _ **So This is How it Begins**_ **.'**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Another five moons passed and Stormlight was growing more and more tired. She expected since she was training both Brownpaw and Brightpaw with help of Ace and Shadowheart, it would be easier. However, whilst Brownpaw had some self-esteem issues making him difficult to train, he was nowhere near the level that Brightpaw was. Brightpaw, unlike her brother, was good at everything she tried to do. She was confident when fighting and hunting, even if she sometimes messed up the latter by being too noisy. Most of the time, she was really good at everything she tried.

But Stormlight had hoped that Brightpaw would have matured enough over the past five moons to have calmed down a bit but her overly enthusiastic nature still stuck. Even with Ace helping Stormlight teach Brightpaw to control her powers, she was still a pawful to handle.

Speaking of Ace, the two had been mates for the past five moons. Sure, they had their disagreements, but they were both fiery people, it was bound to happen.

But both of them were happy and that was good enough for her.

She padded back through the bramble entrance and nodded for Brightpaw to put her prey on the pile. The apprentice nodded in response, bounding over to Sandpaw to show off her catch.

Stormlight stretched, feeling a large ache in her stomach. It had been like that since she'd woken up that morning. She'd felt like she was going to throw up any minute and had been terribly clumsy whilst hunting.

She decided to go speak to Fogfur, he'd probably know what to do.

As she headed over to the medicine den, she spotted Ace and Shadowheart talking again. No matter how much the two toms seemed to fight with one another, they had been talking a lot recently. They always did it in a manner as though they didn't want to be disturbed, so Stormlight had left them alone. Today, somehow, felt different. They seemed to be talking with great urgency as if something was going to happen. She wanted to go over and check if everything was okay, but her stomach said otherwise.

The cold air made her shiver, new-leaf was late and leaf-bare was never easy. It had snowed only once, which hadn't been very enjoyable, but the rest of the moons had just been cold, dry and unenjoyable.

Letting out a yawn, she stopped in front of the Medicine Cat den, ready to enter.

"What do you mean?" Brackenstar's voice came through the ivy covered entrance.

Stormlight paused, ' _what's Brackenstar doing in there? Is he hurt?'_

"It was a dream from Starclan," Fogfur said in a gruff voice, "a warning."

' _I shouldn't be listening in on this,'_ she realised.

"A warning about what?" Her leader's voice said quickly, "the rogues are dead and the lake has been at peace for nearly six moons."

Stormlight was ready to walk away and come back later but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"I had a dream from Lakeheart and Patchfur."

"Patchfur? You said the dream was from Starclan."

"Patchfur was in Starclan."

"But he's Cursed!"

Stormlight blinked in surprise, Patchfur was in Starclan? Did that mean all the elder's tales about how Cursed cats were so evil that they couldn't even go to the Dark forest they were so bad was false?

"That's not the surprising thing," Fogfur sighed, "it's what they told me."

"What did they tell you?"

"They told me that there was a threat in our clan, growing from the inside."

Stormlight pricked up her ears with interest.

"They told me that our clan was about to get hit by the worst attack ever seen in our lifetime."

"Oh, Starclan!" Stormlight heard Brackenstar inhale a deep breath, "even worse than Duskpelt?"

"That's what they told me," Fogfur sighed, "I do not know when this attack will strike, but we must remain cautious."

"Should I tell the clan?"

"No, they'll only panic."

Brackenstar nodded, "thank you for telling me this, Fogfur."

Stormlight quickly hid as she heard Brackenstar exit the den. Once she was sure that the golden-brown tom was gone, she pushed her way into the den.

"Fogfur?" She asked, poking her head through the ivy.

The thick furred, grey tom pushed his way towards the front of the den. Stormlight wrinkled her nose as the suffocating stench of herbs washed over her.

"Yes, Stormlight?" He glanced up at her, twitching his short ears.

"It's probably nothing," she scuffed the ground, "but I have a stomach ache."

"Stomach ache?" He looked at her, "when did this start?"

"Uh," she thought, "this morning."

"Explain the type of pain."

She folded her ears back in confusion, "um- it's kinda like I've been hit in the stomach."

"Come here," the medicine cat ordered.

Stormlight glanced around but did as she was told and approached the medicine cat. He placed a paw on her stomach and she narrowed her eyes.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously.

Fogfur removed the paw and looked up at her, "you're gonna have kits."

Stormlight blinked, "what?"

"Kits," he repeated.

"What?" She repeated.

He flattened his ears, "I think you heard me the first time."

"Kits?"

"Yes."

"I'm gonna have kits?"

She could tell Fogfur was getting tired of this. "Yes, you are."

"Okay," she said, slowly rising to her paws, "thank you."

The medicine cat looked as though he was about to say something else but shook his head and let her leave.

When she stumbled out into the clearing, her head was spinning. The conversation she had overheard between Brackenstar and Fogfur was forgotten. She was going to have kits but she was still so young. Would Ace be happy? She sighed, was she happy?

Glancing overhead, she noticed how dark the sky was growing. Suddenly, she realised how tired she was. Maybe she just needed a night to think about this.

She glanced at the bramble entrance and saw the evening patrol just returning. With a deep sigh, she realised she was too sleepy to process any of this logically at this point.

With a yawn, she padded into the warrior's den and went to sleep.

* * *

"Hey, Stormlight," some cat was whispering in her ear, "wake up."

The silver-grey she-cat blinked open her yellow eyes, expecting the morning sun to see through the den's walls. Instead, she had to take a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness.

"Huh?" She looked to see had woken her up, "Shadowheart? Is everything okay?"

"I'll tell you in a sec," he said, "just follow me."

Nodding, she got to her paws and followed her brother out of the den on drowsy paws. Why was Shadowheart getting her up at this time of night?

She was so tired that she didn't even notice that Ace was missing too.

They crept through camp, Shadowheart guiding her towards the dirt place. They both took a breath of fresh air when they exited to the forest, though, Stormlight felt a chill go through her at the cold, night air.

She shook herself so she was more awake and turned to the tabby tom. "Why did you think that getting me up at moon-high was a good idea?"

Shadowheart sighed, "look, I know this sounds weird, but do you remember how, when we were kits, we used to do everything together?"

She frowned, tipping her head to the side, "of course."

He flattened his ears, "well… I just realised that ever since we became apprentices and then warriors, we never got an opportunity to talk to each other as much as we used to."

"That was bound to happen, Shadowheart," Stormlight laughed softly, "we started having responsibilities. Plus, we had to deal with having a power hungry fox-heart for a father."

"But even when that was over we never really spoke that much."

Stormlight stopped, "well we can talk now. Was there something you wanted to say?"

Shadowheart also paused but he didn't look at her. His mouth was open as though he were ready to speak before he sighed and shook his head.

"I just wanted it to be like the old times, was there anything _you_ wanted to say."

Stormlight frowned, thinking.

"Okay, there is something," she began, "but you have to promise _not_ to tell Ace."

Shadowheart turned his head back to face her, "I promise."

"I-" She looked for the right words, "I'm gonna have kits."

His ears pricked up, "Ace's kits?"

She nodded, "uh-huh."

She noticed something flash in Shadowheart's eyes but it was gone too quick for her to identify. However, his eyes did suddenly grow hard as though he was angry but hiding something as well.

"Well?" Stormlight peered at her brother, waiting for an answer.

"Sorry," he shook his head, "I was thinking. That's great!"

"Don't lie," she laughed, "I know all the problems. I'm way too young, I still have an apprentice, I'm Cursed, Ace is Cursed and that makes these kits probably Cursed too. Not to mention, you hate Ace."

Shadowheart shook his head, "I don't hate Ace."

"Sure you don't," she sighed, "but you never look happy when you talk to him."

"Look, you having kits is great," he looked at her straight in the eye as they walked, "don't beat yourself up over such a great thing."

Stormlight felt warm at her brother's words. "You're right, I'm just being over dramatic."

He glanced forward, Stormlight followed his gaze. She saw the bright, quarter moon shine out onto the lake, making the waves look silver as they washed up on the shore.

She padded up to it, sitting right against the water so it brushed against her paws. She noticed Shadowheart hadn't sat beside her.

"You know," she continued, "I overheard a weird conversation between Brackenstar and Fogfur."

"Yeah," her brother said from behind her.

"Fogfur said he had a dream and that Patchfur was in Starclan," Stormlight shrugged, "so I guess Cursed cats _can_ go to Starclan, isn't that weird?"

"Yeah, weird."

"And, I don't really remember what Fogfur said but it was something about the biggest danger ever coming to our clan?"

When Shadowheart said nothing, she continued.

"Apparently the threat was coming from our own clan, from the inside. And, I know I wasn't supposed to overhear, but it just made me-"

Stormlight was cut off as she felt a heavy paw connect with her head. She let out a cry of surprise, the dizziness overcoming her. The silver water became blurred as she tried to look around.

The last thing she remembered was water washing over her ears as her head hit the sandy floor.

* * *

 **A/N: Whoops! Sorry, this update was way later than I expected. Anyway, this chapter was basically just to set up the final one, next chapter, and oh boy you are gonna hate me after it**

 **It'll answer a couple of questions you guys have (especially about Shadowheart)**

 **I've been building this chapter up since the first book and it will be epic. It will actually be the first proper fight scene involving cats using their curses.**

 **Now, go forth and try and guess what will happen! ;)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: The faith some of you guys have in Shadowheart and Ace to be good cats makes it extra heartbreaking to write this chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

Stormlight let out a groan as she felt the heat on her pelt, how had the sun rose so quickly? She was sweating underneath her fur, the heat was practically burning. Had it rained? The side of her muzzle was wet like she'd fallen asleep in the lake or something.

A sudden gust of wind blew over her, making her shiver and cough at the same time as a thick stench hit her nose.

She shot up and suddenly realised she wasn't in the warrior's den. Her ears were ringing like she'd been hit with something and everything felt a bit blurry. She shook her head, trying to ignore it. Why was she looking out onto the lake?

It was still night and she was struggling to remember what had happened. She vaguely recalled being woken up by Shadowheart and how they had walked up to the lake. Had she passed out? Where was her brother?

Another gust of wind hit her nose as a putrid, acidic stench hit her, causing her to choke. The smell was very familiar, she couldn't place her paw on it.

As she tried to clear her throat and stop the ringing in her ears, she notices something flickering in the lake. No, it wasn't the lake, it was the reflection in the water. A strange coloured light was flickering on the surface of the water!

Suddenly, the familiar putrid stench and the flickering purple colour made her reel backwards. She knew what this was!

Dreading every moment of it, she turned around to face the forest only to see one of the most horrible sights ever. This must've been what Fogfur was talking about.

Because, right in that moment, the forest, _her home_ , was on fire.

But it wasn't _just_ on fire.

It was burning with the purple flames of one of her closest friends, of her _mate_.

Ace had set the forest on fire.

Ignoring her pounding head, Stormlight jumped to her paws and raced towards the trees.

Were her clan safe? Was Brightpaw safe? Where would they go? Could they still be asleep and not realise that they could be _burnt to death_? Where had Shadowheart gone? Was he safe? Was he looking for Ace? Where was he?

Out of all the questions in her mind, one stuck out the most.

' _What are you doing Ace?'_ She desperately hoped that maybe this wasn't him, maybe someone had an identical power to his.

But she found that _very_ unlikely.

Her whole body was shaking with fear and adrenaline as she pelted through the woods, trying her best to ignore the thick smoke that was bound to fill up her lungs.

Ace's fire had never been normal. First of all, it was purple. Second of all, it had always cut through anything and, if Ace was determined enough, then the fire would never stop burning. And finally, the smoke was way deadlier than any normal fire. Stormlight had never really experienced a normal fire but, from what the elders had told her, the smoke was thick and suffocating. Ace's smoke was thick, suffocating, acidic and Stormlight was pretty sure that, if she wasn't running entirely on adrenaline, she would be gasping for breath on the forest floor as the smoke ate away at her lungs.

Both Ace and Stormlight had reasons why they preferred a to train Brightpaw to control her powers by talking rather than demonstration. For Stormlight, it was the unpredictability and flashiness her lightning had. For Ace, it was the smoke.

So, the _real_ question was, was Ace really doing this all on purpose?

Stormlight found herself reminded of the story that her mate had told her about him and his sister burning down a two-leg place. Her heart filled with dread, could he do that again? No, surely not. Ace had always seemed regretful about that and had practically begged Stormlight for forgiveness even though she hadn't been there. He'd never had any malicious intent.

Did that mean there was a perfectly logical reason for burning down the forest?

No, this was her _home_.

She broke into a small clearing of trees, a large boulder placed in the middle. She seemed to be in the thick of the flames here, but that's not what she was bothered about.

"Ace?" She yelled out in a wheeze to the figure on top of the boulder.

He turned around, facing Stormlight. She noticed the way his eyes seemed much more purple with the flames crackling around him.

He leapt down, "you weren't supposed to see this."

Stormlight snarled, "what are you talking about?"

"You think it was a coincidence that Shadowheart just happened to want to talk to you tonight?" Her mate snapped his eyes up from the ground.

"Where's Shadowheart?"

"Safe," he promised.

"And the rest of the clan?"

He paused.

"Ace…" She said warningly, "what are you doing?"

His fur bristled, "they deserved it," he said quietly.

Stormlight took a step back, "no, no, no, no, Ace!"

"I'm doing what's best for us, Stormlight!" He yelled, "you know they'll discover us and they'll kill us!"

"How long have you been planning this? Moons?" She was panting for air, "how could you? Was Shadowheart in on this too?"

"Stormlight-"

"No, Ace," she spat, "I'm speaking."

He tried to take a step towards her but, at the way her paws were sparking with the promise of a storm, he gazed at her warily from his position.

"You went behind my back to do what? To burn down my home," she unsheathed her claws, "this is where I live! My family is in there! I know they killed Patchfur and Breezecloud, they were my friends too and I can't forgive the clan for that but I don't want them to burn! What about Ivyheart? Brightpaw? Sandpaw? Do you even care about them?"

"I do-"

"You told me that you didn't want me to see this," she approached him, thrusting her muzzle in his face, "that means you can feel the guilt! You know what you're doing is wrong."

"I didn't want to show you because I knew you'd have this reaction."

"This is my home."

"It's also the place where you will probably get murdered," he snapped back, "and I love you too much to let that happen. It's time the clans learnt a lesson about the Cursed cats."

"What," she asked dryly.

He glared at her, more fire in his eyes than there was in the entire forest. "Because we are superior, in the end, we win."

Stormlight couldn't take it anymore. Her entire body began to crackle as lightning built up around her. Ace's fur began to stand on end.

"I'm done with listening to you," she spat in a low, hollow voice.

Before Ace could even process what was happening, she leapt at him like a lightning strike, her claws ripping through the air. He quickly dodged away, his paws lighting up with his own fire, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

Stormlight wasn't put off, though, she spun through the air, landing a solid blow on his back, leaving a mark where her power had hit him. In retaliation, he scorched the ground around her, leaving her to jump back to avoid the putrid fire.

Another benefit that came with her power was how quick it made her. Not only did her lightning strike quickly but so did she, making her practically impossible to hit.

However, Ace's power worked better at long range than hers did.

He sent a streak of violet fire towards her, she jumped to the side, taking the moment of opportunity to crash right back into him. She pinned him underneath herself, ignoring the way his claws scorched her fur.

"I'm sorry, Ace," she said, "I can't let you kill them."

"I was doing this for you," his voice was hoarse.

"If you think this is what I want or whether this is for the best," she sighed, "you're wrong."

"I don't want to leave you." He said in a low whisper.

"Then stop the fire," she begged him, "and then we can forget this ever happened."

Ace from where he was pinned underneath her looked almost ready to agree, though, his eyes didn't look into hers. They seemed fixed onto another spot and Stormlight had never wanted him to look into her eyes as much as she did in that moment.

"Ace," she said softly, "please."

He looked back at her, "I'm sorry."

Stormlight didn't have time to absorb what he had just said as an invisible force seemed to tug her off of her feet and send her flying backwards until her back hit a tree. Shakily, she got back to her paws, her body trembling.

She looked to see what had hit her but the only thing she could see was the fiery light casting large shadows. In fact, they almost seemed too large.

"What was that?" She asked Ace who had his head turned away from her.

She felt the frustration claw at her.

"Ace!" She placed her paw firmly in front of her, "what is going on?"

Finally, he turned back to her and Stormlight felt any hope she had to dissipate. The emotionless look he held when he was defeated at something returned, she wanted to claw his ears.

"I swear to Starclan, Ace," she spat, "Put out the damn fire!"

She began to approach him again, readying herself to attack but felt something stop her. It was though an invisible force was keeping her locked to the floor. Her breathing got heavy, what was going on?

Looking at her paws, she noticed the strange way the light reflected shadows onto her body and the way they engulfed her legs.

Then she realised, those weren't normal shadows.

"You should've just kept out of the way," a voice came from the darkness.

Stormlight could've sworn her heart stop, "Shadowheart?"

Like a ghost, her brother emerged from the shadows, his magenta eyes looking darker than normal even as they glittered in the light of the purple flames. She had only seen the look he held in his eyes twice before. Once was when he'd found out who his father really was and the second when he had seen the dead bodies of Patchfur and Breezecloud. The hate and disgust in his eyes made him seem like a different cat like he wasn't her brother.

"You're Cursed," She said quietly before thrusting her head sideways to look at Ace, "how long have you known?"

"Five moons," her mate said guiltily.

"And neither of you bothered to tell me?"

The darkness surged around Shadowheart, "you never bothered to tell me when _you_ found out you had powers!"

"I didn't know-"

"You didn't know whether you could trust me or not," the bitterness was clear in his voice, "even though I was your brother."

"Gingerpool was Mouseeyes' brother," she pointed out before realising her mistake.

"Don't compare me to that ginger fox-heart!" He growled, "I would've never hurt you!"

"Then what changed?"

Shadowheart looked ready to tell her but a hateful glance at Ace told her everything.

"You could've just talked to me," she looked at them, "both of you! We were a team! We saved the kits together, we fought Duskpelt together, _we always stuck together_."

Ace turned away.

"You're too sentimental," her brother's gaze was even stonier and harsher than before, "even if you told us, you would've tried to stop us. You never understood anything about this clan. They will kill you when they find out."

"They won't find out," she muttered.

"Every Cursed cat is found out eventually!" He snarled, "they all _die_ in the end!"

"And that's why we have to go," said Ace quietly, "so _please_ , come with us."

"No," she looked at them desperately, "this is _my_ home, _your_ home! How can you turn you back so easily?"

Shadowheart shook his head, "I knew you'd never understand. Put out the fire, Ace, we're leaving."

The darker grey tom looked at Shadowheart and then at Stormlight before going to follow her brother.

"How dare you?" She called after them as they continued to walk, "how dare you throw everything away?"

No response.

"What about Brightpaw? Flamefern? What about _me_?"

Still nothing.

Stormlight panted before lowering her voice, "what about our kits."

Ace froze as Shadowheart continued to walk. He turned his head slowly to face her.

"Are you just gonna throw _everything_ away, you have a responsibility." She growled at him, "How could you?"

The two stared at each other for a little longer, Stormlight hoping he would turn his back and Shadowheart and come to her. The light of the flames flickered on their faces, purple reflections of fire dancing in her eyes. She trembled, waiting. Waiting for him to apologise, waiting for him to turn towards her and come back.

But he didn't. Instead, the tom swivelled his head back around and continued to walk away and vanish into the undergrowth.

Her paws threatened to give away underneath her.

"Ace! Shadowheart!" She called after them, "Ace!"

' _Come back,'_ she prayed silently, ' _please!'_

Nothing. She could feel the smoke burning her lungs even as the fire began to burn out.

"Ace!" She called again.

Stormlight could remember seeing Flamefern mourning over her brothers, the way she had let out a painful howl that echoed across the clearing. She could remember the emptiness that she had felt and had hoped that she'd never had to experience was Flamefern went through.

But, somehow, this felt worse.

The emotions of guilt, pain, anger and betrayal seemed to make her sway on her paws.

The only sound was the crackling fire and Stormlight's own breathing.

She had never felt so alone.

"Ace," she said softly, "please."

 **END OF BOOK 2**

* * *

 **A/N: Am I evil? Yeah, I'm evil.**

 **God, this chapter was so easy to write! The words just flowed! That's never happened before…**

 **Just an FYI for anyone who didn't really understand Shadowheart and Ace's reasoning for starting the fire and leaving:**

 **Ace knew that, eventually, he and Stormlight would get found out and most likely killed. If he had known about the kits beforehand, I don't think he would've fought so violently with Stormlight, but he still would've started the fire. Plus, he wanted to prove to the clans that Cursed cats were superior to them (he does have a little bit of his father's mentality there)**

 **Shadowheart, on the other hand, had a lot more of a selfish reason to help Ace. HE loved his sister and still did, that's why he knocked her out beside the water, so she wouldn't have to know who started the fire. However, ever since she started growing closer with Ace rather than him, he got a bit 'pissy' at both of them. He agrees with Ace's idea of superiority but a lot of it is revenge which he still might want to carry out…**

 **Also, I lied when I said Scarletclaw and Violetstar would play a major role in this book, they'll play a big role in the next one!**

 **I'm so glad this book is over! I'm tired of writing in foreshadowing! Do you think I hid the twist well? I hope I did.**

 **Fact: I cried when writing this chapter.**

 **Book 3 will be called** ' _ **Those who are Damned'**_ **so keep an eye out for that!**


	10. Sequel

**Sequel:**

 **THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG**

 _(FINAL OF THE CURSED TRILOGY) Ace and Shadowheart are gone and Stormlight is alone. Tensions are building around the lake as one turns their back on Starclan and, soon, Stormlight will face a choice of leaving her clan to face her mistakes or hiding in the shadows of her own heart. But, in the end, is there really a difference between what's right and wrong?_


End file.
